what is knowledge?

knowledge is a balance between truth and beliefs. It is a justified, true belief.

Plato defines knowledge as a proposition that has to be justified, true and someone must believe that it is true.

The equations of knowledge

  • known, known = knowledge
  • known, unknown = belief
  • unknown, unknown = unknown knowledge

The types of knowledge

  • Impersonal propositional knowledge
  • personal knowledge
  • subconscious knowledge

A Justification involves appealing to something other than what is being supported.

There three theories used to justify a belief


Correspondence theory- Comparing with facts of sense experience and logic. e.g when i watch TV for a long period of time, my eyes start to hurt.

Pragmatic theory- Your personal thoughts. It can be as simple as your favorite color . "i think red id the best color ever"

Coherence theory- A statement is true if it is logically consistent with other beliefs that are held to be true. e.g "i don't believe in Scientology because it contradicts so many of my other beliefs.

PIE (Public, Independent, External)

Public- everyone has access to the knowledge claim. is it true to the society?

Independent- Depends only if you alone think its true.

External- will it still be true over time?

Universal truth
This is a permanent fact, and does not change no matter where you are.

ways of knowing

  • perception of sense
  • sense experience
  • perception
  • emotion
  • reasoning
  • language
  • logic
  • authority
  • experience

Paradigm

This model or conceptual system for understanding experiences. e.g Capitalism, History, Science.

Areas of knowing

  • Natural science
  • History
  • Art
  • Ethics
  • Maths

Knowledge issues

A knowledge claim is someones point of view which in turn bring discussion.
the things to consider when detecting a knowledge issue are:
  • Does the knowledge issue contain problematic concepts?
  • What assumptions are being made?
  • what WOK are involved?
  • To what AOK does the claim belong.